Mikel Arteta responds to criticism of Kai Havertz at Arsenal
- Havertz withdrawn after 56 minutes of Arsenal's 2-2 draw with Fulham
- Gunners supporters showed their frustration with German's decision making
- Arteta backs summer signing to come good and praises work off the ball
Mikel Arteta has backed Kai Havertz to win over Arsenal's supporters after the German endured a frustrating afternoon against Fulham.
The Gunners immediately went a goal behind at the Emirates Stadium, with Andreas Pereira seizing on Bukayo Saka's mistake to slot beyond Aaron Ramsdale.
Arsenal eventually got back into the game before taking the lead, thanks to Saka's penalty and Eddie Nketiah's first goal of the season, but they couldn't hold on despite Fulham having Calvin Bassey sent off on his first Premier League start.
Joao Palhinha grabbed Fulham's equaliser, punishing a lapse in concentration from Arsenal to take away a valuable point and a 2-2 draw.
One of the main talking points of the game was the audible frustration levelled at summer signing Havertz, who drew the ire of the crowd for playing the ball backwards instead of advancing forward. It capped a frustrating afternoon for the German, who often popped up in clever positions without ever really impacting the game.
Asked in his post-match press conference if he was worried about Arsenal's fans turning on Havertz already, Arteta brushed things off and backed Havertz to come good if given time.
"No, I saw an action when he played backwards and he could have turned. That’s more I think the demands of everybody to play forward and to impact the game in the final third because we had the urgency to win," Arteta said.
On whether he can win over the fans, he continued: "Yes I think so. I think he’s done already really good things. Today it was tough in certain moments. He got in great areas and the ball didn’t arrive. In a lot of situations he should have scored a lot of goals already this season. That’s the thing that is missing there."
Arteta also reserved special praise for Nketiah, who was left out of the starting lineup in favour of Leandro Trossard, only to come on at half-time following an ineffective 45-minute display from the former Brighton forward.
"Great. He looks a real threat at the moment," Arteta said of Nketiah's impact. "He’s in a good moment, he’s full of confidence. I saw it straight away when I told him he was coming in the second half the fire in the eyes. He’s got an eye for goal and the way he finished the action was top.
"It’s difficult to leave all the players out. When I see on the bench there are a lot of players who still haven’t played. At the moment though we are once a week, when we are two a week it’s going to be a completely different scenario how we are prepared for that."
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